The present invention relates primarily to bins used in the field during harvest to hold commodities such as corn, silage and the like, where said bins are typically later tipped to allow gravity unloading into a larger transport trailer.
It is a known problem in the art that when dumping commodities such as ear corn, chopped silage, green beans, sugar cane, etc., that as the commodity is harvested in the field into the bins, material often tends to adhere together. The severity of the problem depends on several factors including weather, moisture content, consistency and other properties peculiar to the particular commodity involved. However, it is necessary to unload the bins into a larger truck and the problem then arises that as these full bins are raised above the side of the truck and tilted to dump the commodity, such a severe angle is often required that the entire commodity at one point suddenly unloads in one large mass. This can be extremely damaging to the containers and it can be extremely unsafe to an individual assisting in the unloading who might be standing on top of the truck; moreover, only a partial amount of the commodity is often needed to fill the truck. In other situations, only a partial amount of the commodity is needed at a particular location in the truck to more evenly allow distribution of the commodity throughout the truck.
Continuous conveyors using chains, belts or other conveying mechanisms, vibrators, and reciprocating floor systems are usually more mechanically elaborate, more expensive to build and maintain, less reliable and less durable. Moreover, vibrators, for example, can be loud, unpleasant, and are particularly hard on the bins themselves providing unnecessary stress on its structure. Some are unable to be added to existing bins and if so are expensive.
Consequently what is desired is a safe, effective, relatively inexpensive device that is reliable, simple to build and use, and durable, that facilitates the unloading by initiating the flow of the commodity so as to allow gravity to take over, upon demand. It is also a primary objective to provide such a system that is not only safe for the operators and those involved with the unloading process, but allows for minimal damage to the commodity involved by providing a substantially planar member that covers the hydraulic mechanisms or other moving parts, that provides for minimal movement in use and provides for minimal stress on the structure itself. It is a further object of the invention to help prevent the sudden dumping of the entire load in an entirely uncontrolled fashion and to further prevent undesirable shock to the truck or other hauling vehicle should the load otherwise empty as one solid mass.
The invention then is designed to overcome the problems of the prior art and meet these objectives and comprise a device that can be added to one side of existing bins as well as incorporated into new bins upon manufacture in an inexpensive manner. The device is easy to operate and simple to maintain.
Other objects and features of the invention and the manner in which the invention achieves its purpose will be appreciated from the foregoing and the following description and the accompanying drawings which exemplify the invention, it being understood that changes may be made in the specific method and apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the essentials of the invention set forth in the appended claims.